P Crumble (text), Dean Rankine (illus.), A Funny Thing Happened to Simon Sidebottom (Simon Sidebottom #1), Koala Books/Scholastic Australia, May 2018, 192pp., $9.99 (pbk) ISBN 9781743810385
It’s the last day of the school holidays and Simon’s mum is ruining his last day of freedom by taking him shopping for school shoes. Urgh! Simon doesn’t want to go and the reader gets to decide, choose-your-own-adventure-style, whether he stays with his mother or takes off. Either way, the results are ludicrous, with loads of snot and snot bubbles, slime monsters, a farting elephant, a mega wedgie and a cranky cat.
There are revolting, stomach-churning, black and white illustrations on almost every page, bringing to life farts and dripping snot in all its gory glory. The fun pictures are paired with text in varying fonts and sizes, appealing to reluctant readers or those not yet ready to tackle large blocks of text. Every page or two, “a funny thing” happens to Simon Sidebottom and the reader chooses how he will respond from a couple of options. The page numbers are clearly displayed inside black drops of snot, so it’s easy to find the next page.
If you’re into gross, you’ll love this book.
Reviewed by Carissa Mason